Over 40 Gamer.

David from Friday Night Party Line joins me as we talk about Travian and Fate.  With David's help OFG rejoins teh internets.

Edit:  I was trying desperately to remember Hellgate London, fyi.


Email me at over40gamer@gmail.com.

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Thaed's blog.

I've started outlining.  That's the first step in making a show, you know actually identifying something to talk about.  I have to give credit to my podcasting friends who do multiple shows every week.  I don't have that kind of creativity.  For me, this is all about thought expression.  The last thing I want to do is make a show when I have nothing to say.

So I'm sitting here playing with my PS3.  I haven't touched the 360 since before Christmas.  I'm making good on my promise.  Since it red-ringed and then came back, I've avoided it.  There's plenty of gaming options right now.  Plus, HD-DVD has pretty much died.  I ought to try the sell the whole thing on eBay.  I won't, but I should.  There might be some exclusive title that comes out later this year that I'll want to play.

I'm going to watch a movie on the PS3 later.  That's really where it gets most of its use.  Right now, in my limited gaming mode, I'm mostly using the DS and the computer.  I'm not sure how long this drought is going to last, but I'm not going to worry about it.  I certainly have plenty to do.

I've been traveling a ton and so I've been hitting Phoenix Wright fairly hard.  It's perfect for the airplane.  But I have to say, I can't imagine sitting at home and playing this game all the way through.  I would get productivity guilt in a big way because of the hours and hours it would take.  I know, you're saying:  "But you finished Oblivion!"  That, however, was an epic, compelling game.  Phoenix Wright on the DS, to me, is only when you've got nothing better to do.  That's why it's so great for the airplane.

I'm hoping to get another show in soon.  To make a show, it helps to, well, play games!  Ever since Christmas, my gaming time has declined.  I don't mind so much either.  I've been absorbed with other things.  I'm sure it will pick up again, probably when Spore comes out...

I downloaded the latest update for my PSP last night.  I had heard that Sony was now supporting Skype.  I didn't find that in the update and some searching shows some use of a headset with Skype on the unit, but I don't think it's out yet. 

But what I did find was that the PSP now supports internet radio.  It has a player and everything.  This turns the PSP into something like the transistor radios I used to have in the 1970s.  My favorite was this blue ball like thing that you can still find on ebay. 

Anyhow, internet radio is infinitely better than AM radio from 30 some years ago.  It's a great addition and I'm going to start taking the PSP on all my trips.  When it does get Skype, that's going to be a godsend.

Do your other hobbies ever get in the way of gaming?  That's what's been happening to me lately.  Upgrading my home network has become an obsession.  I even made a video about it.

In any event, I'm getting the gaming urge again.  I may play a little bit tonight.  Maybe some RE 4...  I almost picked up Mass Effect last night, but I really want to get play it when it comes out for the PC.

Right now, I'm not gaming.  It's 2:35 p.m. on Christmas and I'm not gaming.  I'm actually going through work for work right now.  I'll be at my office tomorrow and Thursday, but I have that mental urge to go through my work so that tomorrow isn't such a shock.

But that's why I'm not gaming at the moment.

I've been gaming however, over the last few days.  I made Pikmin progress (until I got frustrated with the time clock madness).  I went back to Half-Life 2 until I got nauseous again.  (I really am going to have to take Dramamine to finish it, I think).  Finally, I almost finished Peggle.  Stupid Peggle! 

On the horizon, I might play a little Wesnoth or I might go out and buy Neverwinter Nights 2.  It didn't get great ratings, but I've been in the mood for that sort of game lately.  That is, if I get my work done. 

I had crazy work-related dreams last night, mostly because I have the flu right now.  But it's motivated me to take my sick self downstairs and try to do some of that work.  What I'm really hoping is that I'll feel well enough that tomorrow is not as screaming nightmare.

My throat is raw from singing all day.  We've had a house full of people and Rock band (and the Wii) have been big hits.  I've been on singing duty for the world tour all day.  Hopefully, I'll be able to talk tomorrow.  It would be a shame to ruin one's vocal cords on a video game.  That sounds like something from a modern day Hans Christian Andersen story.

In this show, I discuss:

I.  The Gerstman thing and how it affected me.
2.  Why is gaming so popular now and where is it going? 
3.  Playing Now:  
4.  Shout outs

Email me at over40gamer@gmail.com.

Subscribe through iTunes.

I'm actually taking a day off tomorrow so I'll be able to start the gaming bliss a bit early.  Shopping will cut into that a bit, but I'll take what I can get.  Given the year end burning of vacation time, I can see me making some real progress!

Did anyone else hit a wall in Super Mario Galaxy?  The game has totally lost it's fun for me.  It went from ridiculously easy to impossible.  I had been playing it with my daughters when I just reached a point where I just started dying no matter what I did.  I might need some new batteries for the Wiimotes as I had some control issues, but I'm not sure that's it.  I know a lot of people have finished this game, but I think I'd rather put my head through some drywall.

Scott Rubin mentioned that he had been playing Dwarf Fortress.  This free game looks like something that I might like (too much).  It's on my list to explore... perhaps tonight.

I also want to give a shout out to GameOver40.com for the nice email and link from his very cool site.

I think I've talked about how being an older gamer has it's physical drawbacks.  I'm not talking about Wii bowling for senior citizens either.  Last night, I was enjoying the boat adventure in Half Life 2 and then I got sick.  Sweating, dizzy, nauseous-ready-to-throw-up sick.  Now, I didn't actually hurl, but it was close.  I stopped playing.  Eventually I recovered, but now I'm wondering if I'm going to be able to finish the game.  Seriously.  It's a fun game, but if it's going to make me sick, I'm not going to make it.  I'll have to watch the end of the game on YouTube if that's the case.  I'm going to give it another try this weekend, but very few games are worth barfing over.